Grumpus - 5:55 pm on Feb 25, 2003 (gmt 0)

I agree. MS and Google aren't a good fit. Google is to search engines what open source is to operating systems - except that Google is winning the SE war, whereas open source is lagging in the OS war.

Google does have that "we're not in it for money, we're in it to provide YOU with good results" type message - and the public is buying that message and it's a HUGE part of it's attraction. If MS buys Google, that message goes BYE BYE and Google takes an INSTANT hit in popularity.

There are some more web search technology properties out there - some that haven't even been mentioned (can anyone say Almaden?). Overture is a good match for MS, too as they both are "bottom line" oriented companies. I think Overture might have a bit of overinflated value for the next few months, though with these two big aquisitions. I still think we're looking at a little bit of time before MS makes any big announcement.